Limburgerhof – 巴斯夫植物科学公司正在寻求欧盟批准一种抗病马铃薯，该马铃薯对晚疫病具有天然保护作用。
Fortuna, a genetically optimized table potato, has a wild potato’s natural protection to late blight, a disease that causes severe problems in agriculture, according to the company. Up to 20 percent of annual harvests around the world are lost to this disease, which is caused by the fungi-like pathogen 致病疫霉。
“Fortuna provides decisive benefits for agriculture,” says Peter Eckes, president of BASF Plant Science, in a statement. “The processing characteristics of Fortuna are as good as the parent variety. In addition, Fortuna offers complete protection from one of the world’s most persistent potato diseases. By coupling Fortuna with modern plant protection measures, we are now in a position to offer a food which is produced with a highly sustainable method. Consumers ultimately stand to benefit from this too.”
批准申请涵盖欧盟境内的商业种植以及用作食品和饲料。该公司表示，在批准过程的下一步中，欧洲食品安全局 (EFSA) 将评估 Fortuna 对人类、动物和环境的安全性。
巴斯夫植物科学于 2003 年开始研究抗病马铃薯。Fortuna 已在田间试验中进行了六年的测试，并接受了广泛的安全评估。
据巴斯夫称，转移到 Fortuna 的两个抗性基因来自南美野生马铃薯，最初是由荷兰科学家发现的。尽管经过 5 年多的艰苦努力，使用传统方法的植物育种者未能成功地将这两种抗性基因联合并成功地培育成具有农艺性能的马铃薯品种。
预计在 2014/15 年推出市场。